>MOST of them haven't been produced long enough for people to truly KNOW whether or not they're BIFL

This is often repeated here, but it's actually nonsense that flatly contradicts the sub's obsession with "planned obsolescence." The very concept of planned obsolescence implies that it's possible to know how long an object will last on average given the choice of certain materials and construction techniques.

So which is it? Either we can have reasonable knowledge of how long objects will last without waiting around and watching how long it takes them to fail, or else the whole idea that products are designed to fail, like folks on this sub so often charge, is a spurious complaint.